Some of the Air Force's largest planes are getting pulled from the flight line after another malfunction

Visitors
waiting to see the Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy at the 49th Paris
Air Show in 2011.(AP Photo/Francois
Mori)

Air Mobility Command has grounded the C-5 Galaxy cargo planes
operating at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware after a nose
landing-gear unit malfunctioned for the second time in 60 days.

The stand-down order, issued Monday, affects all 18 C-5s
stationed at Dover — 12 of them are primary and six are backup
aircraft, according to a release.

The Air Force has 56 C-5s in service.

"Aircrew safety is always my top priority and is taken very
seriously," Air Mobility Command’s chief, Gen. Carlton D.
Everhart II,
said in a release. "We are taking the appropriate measures to
properly diagnose the issue and implement a solution."

An Air Mobility Command spokesman
told Military.com that both malfunctions involved C-5M
Super Galaxy aircraft. On May 22 and again Saturday, the planes'
"nose landing gear could not extend all the way," the spokesman
said. The C-5M was introduced in 2009 and is the latest model of
the C-5.

Air Force personnel will perform inspections "to ensure proper
extension and retraction of the C-5 nose landing gear," Air
Mobility Command said. The halt applies only to C-5s at Dover,
and Air Mobility Command said it would work to minimize the
effect on worldwide operations.

Staff
Sgt. Randall Ard, the 730th Air Mobility Squadron crew chief,
clearing the runway for a C-5 Galaxy at Yokota Air Base in Japan
in 2015.US
Air Force

The C-5 is the Air Force's largest airlifter. It has a
65-foot-tall tail and is 247 feet long with a 223-foot wingspan.
The first version, the C-5A, entered service
in 1970, and several models have joined the fleet since then.

The C-5M was given more powerful engines, allowing it to
carry more cargo and take off over a shorter distance. It can
haul 120,000 pounds of cargo more than 5,500 miles — the distance
from Dover to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey — without refueling.
Without cargo, its range is more than 8,000 miles.

Airmen
loading a US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet onto a US Air
Force C-5 Galaxy at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan in
2011.US
Air Force